Fire breaks out at Umicore's Hoboken plant in Belgium

Sept 12 (Reuters) - A fire broke out on Wednesday morning at the Hoboken plant of Belgian materials and recycling group Umicore a company spokeswoman said, confirming reports in the Belgian media.

“The fire brigade is there and no people are hurt,” said Marjolein Scheers. “The cause of the fire is still unknown.”

Scheers said the fire was just in one building and it was too early to say what the impact on operations at the plant was.

“We are still tackling the fire in Hoboken at Umicore,” the Antwerp fire department said on Twitter.

“We are aware that the smoke and smell can be detected from far away... Keep windows and doors closed if affected.”

The Hoboken recycling plant, which is in northern Belgium, obtains precious metals from industrial by-products and items such as old mobile phones, laptops, car catalytic converters. (Reporting by Alan Charlish in Gdynia and Phil Blenkinsop in Brussels, editing by Louise Heavens)